This invention relates to a spinning machine comprising several spinning stations, with depositing sites for cans containing sliver and with transport devices comprising transport belts for the conveying of the slivers from the cans to the spinning stations, stationary lateral guides being assigned to the transport belts immediately before they run onto deflecting rollers.
In the case of a spinning machine of this type (British Patent Document GB-PS 10 15 780), which is constructed as a ring spinning machine, a second transport belt is assigned to each transport belt. As a result, transport belt pairs are created which each receive a sliver between one another and transport it. A plurality of deflecting rollers is provided which disclose no lateral guide for the transport belts. Stationary lateral guides are provided only for the deflecting rollers which are connected directly in front 20 of the spinning stations and which are drivable. These stationary lateral guides are created by the fact that the deflecting rollers are disposed laterally in fork-type supports by means of journals. This type of a lateral guiding of transport belts is useful only when the transport belts are stretched very tightly. However, high tension forces present problems in cases where at the same time large driving forces must be applied to the transport belts. The reason is that ring spinning machines may easily have a thousand spindles, and as a result, driving rollers, on the whole, must transmit a considerable circumferential force, whereby they are twisted unacceptably. However, side rims on deflecting rollers cannot be used for lightly tensioned transport belts because in this case the transport belts tend to climb up the side rims.
It is an object of the invention to provide lateral guides for the deflecting rollers in the case of a spinning machine of the initially mentioned type which are suitable particularly also for less tensioned and very thin transport belts.
This object is achieved according to preferred embodiments of the invention in that the distance of the lateral guides from one another is maximally as large as the width of the deflecting rollers and that at the point of the lateral guides a rear support is provided which is in a slight contact with the transport belt.
In this case, the invention is based on the recognition that lightly tensioned transport belts must be guided by means of stationary lateral guides and that each transport belt, shortly before running onto the deflecting roller, must be supported at this point in the rear with a slight contact so that the transport belt is not tilted or twisted. Such lateral guides may be used for drivable deflecting rollers as well as for deflecting rollers that are not drivable.
Advantageously, the rear support is designed as a sliding surface. As a result, the expenditures with respect to the bearing may be reduced. Such a sliding surface may, for example, be arranged on a support extending in the longitudinal direction of the machine which at the same time also carries the lateral guides. As an alternative, such a sliding surface may be a pin which is assigned to an individual transport belt and, in turn, carries the lateral guides.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.